Looking for answers to life's questions

What comes immediately to your mind when you hear that phrase, ‘one thing’? Ok, now you can keep reading.

You know that old phrase “one thing leads to another”? Last weekend was a prime example of how we get lost in what we are doing and can be easily led astray.

Our Saturday chore was to try to make some sense of the kitchen pantry while incorporating my daughter’s dry goods in with mine. I’ve done that with each family member that moved in for a time. Who knew that this activity would become a wanderlust? We emptied out EVERYTHING! Then I washed down the shelves and we took stock of what was there.

It took all day to clean out and rearrange.

If you think pickled foods and stuff in glass will last forever if unopened, have a second think. So, I opened and dumped things, rinsing out glass jars and putting them in a recycle bin. My heart did a thud seeing the waste. I find it abhorrent. It all looked fine last I looked. Quite the wakeup call here.

All years past the use by dates. Too sad. I hate waste.

As we took a short break, we watched another episode of Marie Kondo’s Netflix shows to keep us encouraged while we had a hot bowl of the Matzo Ball soup, I’d made the night before with lots of garlic, leftover turkey and noodles to chase away the winter germs. Then we watched natures show of beautiful snow showers.

Once everything was placed in systematic order, ‘genius’ here decides to pull out everything from the liquor cupboard and see what’s there. Some was mine, my daughter’s and my sister’s. I played the game ‘what one thing is unlike the other’ and that led to cleaning the stove top. While I was at it with a vengeance, my daughter, seeing all the lovely liqueurs on the floor, thought it would be lovely to make a quick run to the grocery for ice cream. You see the link here, right?

Sorting and separating out what doesn’t belong

What are these doing down here with the wine and liqueurs?

Reds for some friends, white for others and the rest for ice cream. Yum

Liqueurs and ice cream go together and we needed to be rewarded for our hard work and the organizing of such wonderful goodness. It would appear that I’m quite the lush but the liquor has been there longer than some of the pickled foods I had to toss, some much, much longer. So, in the event of an apocalypse, you know now what will stay good and what won’t. Forget the food and keep the booze.

14-year-old stove but at least it’s clean now. One thing leads to another.

Next is the tea and spice cabinet. Oh my word, that could be problematic. I think the teas will need their own cabinet so what will have to go? Hmmm.

Many of the blogs I have been reading in the last couple of weeks are reverberating the same theme. Everyone seems to be clearing clutter and purging excess. Most people wait till spring to do these things. What pushes us to do it after the first of the year? Do you stockpile anything?

Happy Valentines Day everyone. Have a little loaded ice cream to celebrate.

A lot of hard work really pays off in the end though, doesn’t it? What a feeling of satisfaction to have that completed but ….Wow! The two of you really accomplished something here. I cringe to think of my pantry.🙄

Hmm, not foods, but I know that when the Husband and I amalgamated our pantries I discovered he had canned and pickled goods which were more than 10 years old. I think I saved his life there… I have a bad habit of keeping old pain meds. I had such a bad time with my back that I’m afraid of not being able to deal with bad pain if it comes back before I can get to a doctor or pharmacy. Written down like that, it looks really stupid, but I can’t seem to give up all that ‘good stuff’ that’s now out of date.

I would have held onto it but it had obviously turned so there was no way I would eat it or feed it to someone else. I’ll be more discerning in my purchases now. I too keep out of date meds, not that I need many. Thanks for stopping by. It’s funny how I can go from pantry to liquor to cleaning the stove in one fell swoop. 🙂

Well done you two!! Love that photo of you Marlene, sitting on the floor smiling surrounded by your various bottles of booze – one might think you had already begun tasting….. 😀
I think I already shared with you that I have just cleansed my entire kitchen – oh the things I discovered at the back of the cupboards!! I moved in here almost 8 years ago and some things have not been moved since. Out they went! I have at least three filled to overflowing glass recycle bins to move on and two very large cartons of unused appliances and paraphernalia to get to some charity store or other. Every time I think I’m done I find somewhere else I can begin purging from. There’s a huge satisfaction though in knowing what is in every cupboard and every drawer isn’t there – and knowing that all is usable and loved makes me really happy!

I am so with you here. I’ve been here 4 years and it really needed a good clearing out. As soon as the rain stops, I’ll get all the glass to the recycle bin. Every cabinet will be gone through and the sewing room is finally ready to work in again. My son will be coming this summer and taking a great deal with him. Then we will do a yard sale to make a little money for the Animal Shelter here. I’ll put a jug out for those that want to donate to it without buying my junk or give them the junk if they donate. Sounds fair, right? I agree about the satisfaction. It is starting to feel so much better. Hugs and love to you.

We just got back from a very quick evening walk – the light drizzle turned into a tropical downpour that went straight through my ‘shower’ jacket. Mustn’t complain though, at least it’s a little cooler 🙂 I think your yard sale idea is an excellent one!

That weather can turn on you in seconds. Remember a walk with Schatzie when we had lightning hit right behind us and there was no rain. We both flew home so fast our paws didn’t touch the ground. I’ll take the rain over that. Stay dry. 🙂

My daughter can be quite pushy about letting go of stuff or it might all still be here taking up valuable space. It is good to have that kind of help. More ice cream tonight for Valentines Day. Not that either of us have a valentine but what the heck, the ice cream doesn’t know that. Thanks for the visit, Jill.

Love seeing the during pictures! Bet the ice cream was great that night. We are having a blitz too, staggering what you find. We always seem to end up with sun cream by the bucket load, which must be replenished really every year. We’re onto paperwork this week and endless shredding.

The ice cream was wonderful that night and I agree, it is staggering what you find. I love the phrase ‘having a blitz’! That’s kind of how it feels. I did the paperwork shred a couple weeks ago. I keep on top of mine but my daughter came with years worth so I made short work of it. Spurts at a time so the shredder didn’t overheat. 😉 Can you explain “sun cream” please?

“Forget the food and keep the booze.” What a great line, Marlene! You look so cute in those photos. Good for you! We’ve been clearing out a lot of clutter the past few months…it feels great, doesn’t it? I love the heart! Mine hangs in my writing room, so you’re always in my thoughts. Happy Valentine’s Day! xo

It’s good to know you like the heart as it’s a photo of the one I sent you, I think. My mind is a sieve these days. 😉 I think we are causing the economy to crash because we are offloading and not purchasing as much these days. 🙂 It does feel better to clear so much out. Have a wonderfilled day and weekend ahead.

I need you and your daughter to come do my pantry. I’ve been wanting to clean it for a couple of years and haven’t gotten around to it yet. Also a linen closet in my hallway that has more junk then linens. 😉
But I have found out that cleaning is hazardous to my health as I tripped over the vacuum yesterday and messed my knee up. I had to use the husbands’ walker yesterday to get around. Now I’m using a cane. I need a maid. haha!

That’s not a good thing, Jackie. You have to watch those vacuums. Mine broke my computer so I know how deadly they are. If I could get up your way I’d be happy to help. I’m a cleaning machine as my daughter says. I’d rather do that then cook. So we use our strengths here. She cooks on the weekends and I keep things tidy. She cleans her room though and her bathroom. I think you are just supposed to rest and write. The vacuum said so. 😉 Hugs.

I love this. We ALL need to reward ourselves with “loaded ice cream” now and then (or maybe just the loaded part? Kidding.). Cleaning is dirty work! I’ve been doing the same, I’m on a purge roll. It is quite liberating, albeit too time consuming. This is karma for being such a pack rat. Oh, well, now where is my ice cream? Happy Valentine’s Day, Marlene! ❤

Marie Kondo is causing quite a cleaning kerfuffle! I too purged the pantry and was shocked by how many duplicates of items I had, all because I couldn’t see deep into the back of beyond on the shelves. I love your solution to the liqueur problem – ice cream – which is the cure for many ills, I find. Add booze and its nirvana.

Thanks so much, Susanne. Marie K is causing quite the stir. I’ve had her book for quite some time and didn’t care for it but watching how she works on TV changed my attitude a bit. I think from what I’m seeing, so many are in the same purging mode. I used to have pull out drawers. Now I have the kind that swallow food. Anytime I had company for dinner, dessert would be ice cream and liqueurs. Everyone could choose what they liked and most were just delighted not to be eating a dry cake. 😉 Booze make everything better. Too bad I don’t really drink. I keep it for company. ;(

Ai yi yi! That’s a lot of reorganizing! I agree about feeling terrible about the waste–we find too many expired foods around here, too. And our booze cabinet looks like yours–we couldn’t drink all that stuff if we lived to be 100!

Thanks for stopping by, Kerry. Still so much left to do. I buy wine for friends that like a glass when they come to visit. I never drink alone but liqueur on ice cream isn’t drinking so I’m good there. 😉 I guess I’ll have to have a party soon for any reason. 😉

Been there, done that and got the tee to proof it! 😉 My, you two had a lot of work but I know how it is, one thing really leads to another. Should clean my pantry again but ‘only’ did it about one year ago so that shouldn’t be too scary. 😉 It’s been quite sunny here these last days and my windows beg to be cleaned as does every nook and corner. 😉 But it’s still cold so I will wait until it’s warmer. 😊 But the loaded ice cream part sounds like something I could do now. 😉

I would wait till it’s warmer too if I could have. We still have bags of stuff from her kitchen on the floor to incorporate. ;( I did clean the inside of the windows before she moved in but the rest waits for warm. Loaded ice cream is good any time of year. 😉

Marlene, I desperately need to do this. I think I have some spices and heaven knows what else that has been in my cabinets for over 15 years. Pretty terrible. You have inspired me to roll up my sleeves and Just Do It! Now I know it will be a full day. You must feel so good now. Sore, but good,

I wish I could say we were done. Still a bit more to do but I’m functional again so that’s a good start. I’ve lived here 4 years, my daughter is my third house mate so for the most part, not much is stagnant for long. Spices will be purged soon too. They don’t work after a year. ;( You deserve a nap when you get all that done. 😉 Hugs,

Spices don’t work after a year? Oh, no! I might have to plan this as a bigger-than-a -day-job sometime this summer. You are purging and cleaning four years of stuff, and I need to do fifteen years. Honestly, it isn’t dirty, just very old. I Can Do This! Thank you so much, Marlene. And I may need more than one nap. 🙂

You two certainly work well as a team. I’m impressed with the progress you’ve made and applaud your efforts to go lean. We too shop by the week and rarely stock pile much more than soup, especially now that it’s just the two of us. Out of WW necessity, I’ve purged the snack drawer and have resisted the temptation to buy the “delectables” that pile on the pounds. Mike made his goal last week. He dropped 30 pounds (40 from his all-time high). I’m losing at a slower rate, but 20 pounds down from my high with about 9 pounds to go. I’m remembering all the rooms in your house this time last year. What an amazing few days we had together, Marlene. I had such a good time. Your lovely card and heart arrived today. What a lovely surprise. xo

Thank you so much for the visit, Alys. I know how busy you have been. Oddly, on errands yesterday we were driving by Bob’s Red Mill and saw the sign that it was his 90th birthday on the 15th. You were here one year ago and got to celebrate 89 with him. He was not there yesterday as the party was on Friday. ;( But stop we did to remember you and the visit. I’m trying to get straight with the food again. These last weeks with catch as catch can meals have not been kind. We are using up everything and starting fresh in the next few days. Congrats on those wonderful numbers to you both. You want to keep each other around longer. We are doing well together. I’m glad you liked the heart. I wanted to get them done sooner but just couldn’t move myself. My son still hasn’t received his. ;( We still have a long way to go here but at least I can get some creative projects going again. 😉 Hugs xoxo

I see a lot of yummy food in that pantry closet. Hehe. Some couscous, veggie broth…and that looks like a jar of almond butter. Oh my *heavens*. Hehe.
One thing does lead to another. I have not caught the cleaning bug just yet, however. I’m still in a cocooning mood, wanting to curl up and not do anything except read, stay warm, and sip tea. It could have something to do with the busyness I’ve experienced in the last few weeks. Hehe.
Sending you hugs and wishes for a wonderful new week. I hope you had a great Valentine’s Day.

I’d like to sit and read and curl up too but moving my daughter in required a lot of work I hadn’t planned on. Good to get it done. I just found out dried beans don’t keep forever either. How is it that alcohol does? 😉 Valentine’s day is just another day around here. 😉 I’m hoping to start catching up this week. Thanks for stopping by. I’m ready to take a break real soon.

How fun they have a song called One Thing. 😉 Dried beans don’t last forever either. Even those I stored in a glass jar. ;( Quite the eye opener. Hang onto the booze, It will outlast me. 😉 Have a wonderfilled week. Still not caught up here.

I couldn’t believe it when you asked (One Thing). haha Dried beans last longer than you think, but not sealed in a glass jar (where I keep them if I have my own kitchen; keeps the mice out); dried foods do best in paper bags or cloth bags, hung up somewhere cool and dark. Easy to say, right? And mice can climb, too . . . But I go through beans, split peas, etc. fairly quickly on my own. We eat canned beans here, but not that often. In the UK that last 3 months I made a lot of daal (I thought it was spelt ‘dahl’ until I looked it up; who knew?) and we’d have it with Lundberg’s Brown Basmati Rice and lots of veggies, the veg usually baked or roasted in the oven. Yummmm!

I wonder if the beans would last longer if you put them into the booze? lol

Anyway, that was surprising (beans not lasting, I mean). Thanks for the tip.

I want (in my own place, I mean) some slightly sloped shelves for the canned goods I use regularly. The cans can be lying down and added new at the top. You take the lowest off to use it. takes care of the whole rotating dates and sloshing them around bits.

Still cold here and now snowing. I’d love to pop by for ‘ice cream’ winter or no . . .
Take care, Marlene. You are a great inspiration to us all, but esp. to me. Hugs. ~ Linne

The split peas were in a plastic bag from the store so I put them in a glass jar. They were dated 2013. They might have been ok but from the look, I decided not to chance it. Passed them on to the garden.

Omigosh Marlene you are a crack up! And yes! the best place for liquer is over ice cream. I knew we agreed on that point. This is often what happens in my house: I begin with a good idea to organize something, then I see how dirty it is, then I scrub, and then I realize that the space right next to it also needs to be scrubbed…and before I know it, it’s dark outside and I’m beat. Good thing you had loaded ice cream as a reward for your labors. The photos of you with all those bottles is funny too. Looks like you are a total lush, ha ha!

Glad to add a little levity, Crystal. I do look like a lush there, don’t I? Funny that I rarely drink and even more rarely have loaded ice cream. I love it, my stomach, not so much. But it’s fun to serve guests for dessert. It’s so easy for one thing to lead to another. Hope you are doing well.

I am doing pretty well. A bit antsy from having no job. I didn’t expect this. I stay busy every day of course – people like us never run out of things to do. But I am feeling the need to have a job, any job. I’ve worked for a paycheck since I was 14, and after 35 years of it…I am having a hard time adjusting to not working like that.

But….first world problems, right? I need to get a job anyway. All out of money already.

grrrrr. Mostly done. I just posted a new post with images. I’ll probably do another post with close ups and details. Mostly I’m mad because I got my final bill and the contractor DOUBLED the estimate. It went from $15k to $30k. I am so angry I have not been able to respond. But I certainly refuse to pay that much.

You’d think I was quite the lush but they are a combination of my daughter and sister’s bottles going into my cupboard. 🙂 It was fun to see what had been hiding for so long. Thanks for stopping by, Cynthia. Have a wonderfilled week and weekend.